More often than not, knots and rope tightening devices are used to secure small objects being transported on utility vehicles and vans, or on a large scale to secure cargo and freight transported by trucks, aircrafts, ships, rail vehicles, etc.
Knot tying is the most simple and rudimentary form of securing a length of rope. Even so, knots used by those experienced can be quite complicated to tie and difficult to teach. One example is the “truckie's knot” which is formed by following a rigid sequence loop, twists and turns. While effective in fastening rope around a load there is a danger of failure if not tied properly.
Furthermore, to tie these kinds of knots is time consuming and if the knots are over-tightened even more time is required to release them.
Other techniques of fastening ropes include using elastic cords and buckled straps. Elastic cords usually have a shortened life due to the constant stretching to which they are subjected. Generally, the conditions of use of tying ropes about a load are quite harsh and not suitable for elastic cords.
Buckled straps work well but the buckles are usually attached to the straps and cannot be used on a separate strap or with any kind of rope that is not sufficiently flat to thread through the buckle. Because the buckles are attached to the straps damage to the load or vehicle may occur when throwing the strap over the load and vehicle to secure it to the vehicle's underside. It often happens that the user becomes frustrated with the buckles and cuts these off to continue to use the strap as a length of rope.
Winching straps are also a strap-based product having a permanent metal buckle with metal hooks at both ends that act as fasteners. A load is secured by winching the strap around a central hub. Aside from having the above described drawbacks of the buckled strap, the winching strap is a complex system that may involve springs, gears and other moving parts making it costly to manufacture, more likely to fail and difficult to use.
The present invention seeks to provide a simple rope tensioning device that is simple and quick to use.